The Edinburgh Primary Care Depression Study: personality disorder and outcome

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Primary Care Medicine

Background:

• Limited understanding of personality pathology's effect on major depressive illness treatment in UK primary care.
• Investigating the influence of personality disorders on depression outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of personality pathology on the treatment outcomes of major depressive illness.
• To compare recovery trajectories in patients with and without personality disorders.

Main Methods:

• Randomized controlled trial of 113 patients with DSM-III major depressive disorder.
• Four 16-week treatment arms followed by an 18-month follow-up.
• Assessment of depressive symptoms, personality, and social functioning.

Main Results:

• Prevalence of personality disorder (PD) was 26% in the study sample.
• Patients with PD were younger and more depressed at baseline.
• PD patients had poorer social functioning and higher depression ratings post-treatment compared to NoPD group.
• No significant differences in depression or social functioning at 18-month follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Both personality disorder (PD) and no personality disorder (NoPD) groups showed substantial improvement.
• Presence of personality pathology was associated with a delay in recovery from major depressive illness.